Nokia burning though cash reserves

[Derrick]

Nokia rapidly burning though cash reserves

Nokia Oyj is tearing through its cash reserves at an unsustainable rate, raising what some analysts say are serious questions about the struggling Finnish phone maker’s ability to stabilize its finances in the months ahead...

 

[Elimentals]

They have nothing to fear, Microsoft will bail em out, they have to.

Microsoft have way to much to lose if Nokia fails as people will view Windows Phone OS is at fault and not Nokia management. In fact most do so already.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Gonna be interesting.

 

[ColinR]

Had Nokia chosen Android that negative spiral would have reversed. I have always liked Nokia hardware. Their OS is what is holding them back.

 

[skimread]

The windows 8/rt delay is going to hurt them.

 

[sox63]

Nokia's fate is tied with that of Microsoft and I'm of the belief that Microsoft is gonna be here in profiatble form for a long time to come.

I recently got the Lumia 800 and it has fitted perfectly into my Windows existance with very little setup effort, now I'm holding off getting a tablet to wait for Windows RT and whichever device OEM does a good try at it. But my guess is that the Nokia tablet due late this year will be very good...

 

[ClintX]

Had Nokia chosen Android that negative spiral would have reversed. I have always liked Nokia hardware. Their OS is what is holding them back.

No, they would have then been just another fish in an already crowded pond. A pond which is becoming segmented at a rate of knots. Of course they would have ridden the wave but as a consumer you need choice. I applaud Nokia for taking a different tack. Samsung just rides the coat tails of the latest trend. They do well out of it but it hardly endears me to them like it apparently does others.

 

[fragtion]

Symbian sucked pretty hard if you ask me, but I do still hope Nokia sticks around and brings something that's actually competitive to the market

 

[Elimentals]

No, they would have then been just another fish in an already crowded pond. A pond which is becoming segmented at a rate of knots. Of course they would have ridden the wave but as a consumer you need choice. I applaud Nokia for taking a different tack. Samsung just rides the coat tails of the latest trend. They do well out of it but it hardly endears me to them like it apparently does others.

You are aware that both HTC and Samsung plus others also sell Windows Phones, they may not advertise it like Nokia does but they do still stock em.

All Nokia could have done was include Androids models in there line up, they could have kept up with the Windows Marketing and focus on Windows Phone but at least would have enjoyed the sales of their Android models in thus blocking the current leak wait refraze current surge of customers changing brands just to get Android Phones.

 

[ClintX]

You are aware that both HTC and Samsung plus others also sell Windows Phones, they may not advertise it like Nokia does but they do still stock em.

Yes I am but I fail to see how that contradicts what I said. That just places and exclamation mark behind it. They also hedge their bets. Clearly they have not been very successful at helping WP get a foothold, so should Nokia have done the same and we end up with a situation where we only have one OS to choose from? Which will no doubt stifle innovation and competition.

All Nokia could have done was include Androids models in there line up, they could have kept up with the Windows Marketing and focus on Windows Phone but at least would have enjoyed the sales of their Android models in thus blocking the current leak wait refraze current surge of customers changing brands just to get Android Phones.

Yip, that would indeed have been the easy way out. But they also wanted to differentiate themselves.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

All Nokia could have done was include Androids models in there line up, they could have kept up with the Windows Marketing and focus on Windows Phone but at least would have enjoyed the sales of their Android models in thus blocking the current leak wait refraze current surge of customers changing brands just to get Android Phones.

This.

I left Nokia precisely because Windows 7 was a big leap away from Symbian (for Nokia), and I was not so sure about whether it'll be good or bad.

 

[ClintX]

This.

I left Nokia precisely because Windows 7 was a big leap away from Symbian (for Nokia), and I was not so sure about whether it'll be good or bad.

So then once they had WP up and running would you have moved over to that? I reckon probably not so what would they have gained by the delay? Merely become another Android pusher.

 

[Azbubu]

If they're having money issues then why are they burning what money they have?

 

[Elimentals]

Yes I am but I fail to see how that contradicts what I said. That just places and exclamation mark behind it. They also hedge their bets. Clearly they have not been very successful at helping WP get a foothold, so should Nokia have done the same and we end up with a situation where we only have one OS to choose from? Which will no doubt stifle innovation and competition.

Yip, that would indeed have been the easy way out. But they also wanted to differentiate themselves.

Nokia still sell Symbian and Meego devices, they just do not focus on it. How would adding an Android device or wto make any difference.

Marketing is the key element they use to differentiate themselves. Samsung only markets Android phones and Nokia could stick to marketing only Windows Phone simple as that.

You don have to change the image, just the stock.

 

[The_Unbeliever]

So then once they had WP up and running would you have moved over to that? I reckon probably not so what would they have gained by the delay? Merely become another Android pusher.

My reasoning thus :

1. Nokia's exosystem was based on Symbian.
2. Nokia never had any Windows phone before. Other manufacturers did.

So, it would be quite a big leap to go from point A to point B.

Now, continuing my reasoning :

3. Because they're quite new to the new Windows exosystem, there's bound to be snafu's and problems along the way.
4. I want a working phone, not one with problems ~ and waiting for fixes/patches to be released to address those snafu's.

So, therefore :

5. Look at other manufacturers to see who's got a good, reliable phone which I can use - and my choice was Samsung+Android after a couple of google searches and enquiries all over the place.


FYI - I was bitten once with OS/2 - and, since then have decided that I will never do that to myself again. As soon as a product/company shows flagging in the market, and steps aren't taken soon to address it, then I'll look for another, replacement product.

I don't want to sit with something I can't use.

 

[inferno]

WP 7.5 is awesome. My GF has a Lumia 800 and after playing with it for a while, I've come to like it more than my Iphone.

I think people who bash WP 7.5 are people who have never used 7.5...

 

[Elimentals]

If you think about it logically like a business manager would, its best to keep your loyal customers happy an sometimes that means giving them what they want. You can not go forcing your desires onto others and in that view it would have made better sense to stock Android as an alternative. You can continue to tell them no you will not like that, try this one instead but if they insist you give them what they want, else you will lose that customer.

I see only 2 reasons why Nokia do not stock Android.
1 its part of the agreement with Microsoft for exclusivity.
2 it was not financially feasible to bring out another model.

Now applying Occam's razor tells me its option 1. Taking Microsoft's past track record and business contracts in mind I would say that in order to qualify for the cash boost they had to drop Android, hell I would even venture a guess that meegos death is also in that agreement ESP with its ties to Linux and Open Source.

With above info at hand you can see why I also claim that Nokia management have nothing to fear as Microsoft have just as much riding on this and would be forced to bail Nokia out if the brown stuff(not chocolate) hits the fan.

 

[sox63]

If you think about it logically like a business manager would, its best to keep your loyal customers happy an sometimes that means giving them what they want. You can not go forcing your desires onto others and in that view it would have made better sense to stock Android as an alternative. You can continue to tell them no you will not like that, try this one instead but if they insist you give them what they want, else you will lose that customer.

I see only 2 reasons why Nokia do not stock Android.
1 its part of the agreement with Microsoft for exclusivity.
2 it was not financially feasible to bring out another model.

Now applying Occam's razor tells me its option 1. Taking Microsoft's past track record and business contracts in mind I would say that in order to qualify for the cash boost they had to drop Android, hell I would even venture a guess that meegos death is also in that agreement ESP with its ties to Linux and Open Source.

With above info at hand you can see why I also claim that Nokia management have nothing to fear as Microsoft have just as much riding on this and would be forced to bail Nokia out if the brown stuff(not chocolate) hits the fan.

One thing you are not looking at is profitability of a chosen platform. I would hazard a guess that Nokia makes more off a WP7 Lumia than what Galaxy gives Samsung. Nokia would have been just another one in an Android pond. Their alliance with MS was a good decision IMO.

And seeing as though Samsung reports profits as Samsung Electonics and not just the smartphone and tablet arm, its very difficult to tell.

 

[Elimentals]

One thing you are not looking at is profitability of a chosen platform. I would hazard a guess that Nokia makes more off a WP7 Lumia than what Galaxy gives Samsung. Nokia would have been just another one in an Android pond. Their alliance with MS was a good decision IMO.

And seeing as though Samsung reports profits as Samsung Electonics and not just the smartphone and tablet arm, its very difficult to tell.

How would this have changed anything?

Only reason Samsung is not selling Windows Phones by the hundreds is because they don't market them. If profit was really an argument you would think they would focus on Android models instead of Windows Phone ones?

Besides Nokia don't have to market the Android models at all. Just provide them as a last resort before the customer jumps brand kind of thing. Like I said only logic is in the contract, nothing else.

 

[sox63]

How would this have changed anything?

Only reason Samsung is not selling Windows Phones by the hundreds is because they don't market them. If profit was really an argument you would think they would focus on Android models instead of Windows Phone ones?

Besides Nokia don't have to market the Android models at all. Just provide them as a last resort before the customer jumps brand kind of thing. Like I said only logic is in the contract, nothing else.

Well, Gartner estimates that Nokia accounts for over 60% of WP7 sales out there and if you look at the figures that came out of China and Russia, WP7 in Q1 2012 has already surpassed iOS in market share. The same Gartner estimates Samsung only accounts for 40% in Android sales, in China and Russia at least, Nokia's choice seems to be paying off with just a few months of activity in those markets. I dont expect the WP7 trend of it outselling iOS in the mature markets, but they will grab a few percentage points of share and Nokia will benefit more than any other, IMO

Microsoft’s Windows Phones are outselling iPhones in the Chinese and Russian markets. Though Windows Phone was only launched in China 2 months ago it has surged to 7 per cent market share compared to 6 per cent for iOS. Android is still top dog in China with 69 per cent of the market.

http://hexus.net/mobile/news/windows-phone/39601-windows-phones-outsell-iphone-q1-china-russia/